実践ビジネス英語 ディクテーション (9/14,15)

こんにちは。NHKラジオ「実践ビジネス英語」”Talk the Talk”のディクテーションです。

Lesson 11のテーマは、’Revamping Sexual Harassment Policy’（セクハラ対策を刷新する）でした。Vignetteでは、企業のセクハラ対策の概要、典型的なセクハラ事例や、対策の難しさなどが話題になりました。

“Talk the Talk”では、実際に目撃されたセクハラ事例や問題点について話されています。

Revamping sexual Harassment Policy

（S: 杉田敏先生　H: Heather Howardさん）

S: Our current vignette discusses sexual harassment in the workplace and how it often goes unreported.

I hope you’ve never experienced that, Heather.

H: I never have, no. I’ve been extraordinary lucky in that regard.

The “Me, too” movement has highlighted lately just how widespread this problem still is around the world, and it’s deeply unsettling.

What about you, Mr. Sugita?

Have you come across this in your career?

S: Yes, unfortunately.

At one point I worked in the Tokyo office of a multinational company where there were frequent guests from abroad.

Some Western visitors regularly hugged or kissed the female Japanese staff, which by today’s standards clearly constituted sexual harassment and was often disdained by my female colleagues.

They tended not to speak up, however, and rationalized such acts as “Western custom.”

H: It is NOT, ugh... I wish I could have been there to tell them it’s not.

S: One such perpetrator tried the same approach with an American colleague while visiting the New York office―and immediately got his face slapped in plain view of the entire staff.

News like that travels fast internally and it was welcomed with silent applause in the Tokyo office.

He lost a lot of face with that incident.

I’m happy to say he behaved quite properly on his subsequent visits to Tokyo.

H: Well, I might say, “Kudos to the woman who slapped him.”

The vignette says some women aren’t sure who to report sexual harassment to, or they don’t want to ruin the man’s career.

Another big problem, I think, is that women around the world are brought up to be “nice.”

We have to be sweet, gentle, non-aggressive, or we risk getting labeled with the b-word.

I think societies around the world have got to get over that, and make it acceptable for women to push back, literally and metaphorically.

I’ve read, for example, that we shouldn’t force children, especially little girls, to accept unwanted hugs and other physical affection.

If we make them kiss or hug someone when they don’t want to, we’re telling the child, “You don’t have control over your own body,” which can be a very dangerous message.

S: The vignette also mentions stories of women being ignored or retaliated against in cases of sexual harassment.

H: I can't imagine how helpless and angry and frustrated that must make a person feel.

Not only are they subjected to the first horrible experience, and often it’s not an isolated incident, often they’re multiple incidents of abuse, they’re made to feel like no one believes them or will help them.

I remember reading about a journalist who said she was forcibly kissed by a very prominent man she’d interviewed.

She said she told a former professor of hers about the incident at the time, but decided after their conversation that it would be best not to say anything.

The two of them felt it would be a “he said, she said” situation and the man would probably try to destroy her if she came forward.

I’ve also heard of accusers’ personal information like phone numbers and addresses being revealed on line and elsewhere.

S: Ueda asks about the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

H: I’d say McMillan has the right approach.

You can be complimentary but keep it short.

There’s nothing wrong with the occasional “That’s a nice dress,” or “Your hair style looks nice like that.”

But leave it there.

There’s no need for a monologue on the subject.

And don’t compliment a woman just on things like that: pay attention to her work, too.

We always like to be complimented on our minds.

お疲れさまでした。お読み下さり、ありがとうございます♪